Eurozone inflation rate remains below zero in March

BRUSSELS (AP) — Official figures show that consumer prices across the 19-country eurozone fell in the year to March for the second month running.

Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency, says Thursday that inflation was minus 0.1 percent against the previous month’s reading of minus 0.2 percent.

The modest uptick was in line with market expectations.

One development that may likely cheer policymakers at the European Central Bank was the news that the core rate, which strips out the volatile items of food, alcohol, energy and tobacco, rose to 1 percent from 0.8 percent.

Still, both rates remain well below what the ECB wants — inflation at just below 2 percent.

The ECB has enacted a series of stimulus measures to get inflation back to target.